17x04 - When Aunt Lena Did the Rhumba

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ I'm headin' down
to old broadway ♪

[Turns off shower]

Ooh!

Hi. I'm just singing
some of my favorite show tunes

Because today I'm going
to the theater--

Live theater--

Real people singing
and dancing onstage.

It's matinee day today
in new york city,

And that means
that all of the theaters

Have a special
afternoon performance.

All I have to do is decide
which show I want to see.

Believe me,
there's a lot to choose from.

♪ Da da da da da da ♪

♪ Da da da daaa daaa ♪

I'm going to have
a little breakfast

And really study
this decision.

I've got my newspapers
and magazines

With all of the theater listings
right here.

You know, seeing a broadway show
in new york city

Is something that millions
of people do every year.

And even though there
are wonderful theaters
in every city and town,

Broadway theater is just...
Well, it's bigger.

It's famous for being
the best of the best,

And that's exactly why aunt lena
goes to the broadway theater

Every wednesday afternoon
in this book...

When my aunt lena
did the rhumba,

Grandma said
the whole house shook.

Aunt lena taught me
how to cha-cha

And do the charleston...

"Sophie, you're a natural--

A born star
if there ever was one."

Aunt lena loved dancing
and movie stars,

But, most of all,
she loved her broadway musical.

Every wednesday,
off to the matinee she'd go,

Leaving a trail
of lavender-smelling perfume

Behind her.

Later that evening,

Aunt lena's taxi would drive up
in front of the house.

"Oh, magnificent!

Absolutely magnificent!"
Gushed aunt lena

As she flung open
the kitchen door.

She'd waltz
around the kitchen,

Humming the music
and acting out the romance

Between the handsome hero
and the beautiful heroine.

One wednesday, in the middle
of a show-stopping number,

Aunt lena slipped on a piece
of cooked cabbage

And landed...thump!

Right on her big rump.

"Oh! Oh! I can't get up!

Help me please!"
She wailed.

"Don't move.
Now listen to me.

I'm your mother,"
directed my grandma.

"Lena, don't you move."

As it turned out,

Aunt lena
had sprained her ankle.

"The doctor says
I've got to rest

"Until it gets better.

"Shopping, bingo,
and the beauty parlor
I can do without,

"But my wednesday matinee!

That's what I'll miss."

Suddenly, I got an idea,

But I needed some help.

I tiptoed
into the living room

Where uncle dutch sat,
buried in the newspaper.

"Uncle dutch," I said in
my sweetest pretty-please voice.

"Let's put on a show
for aunt lena.

"If she can't go to
her wednesday musical matinee,

Maybe her matinee
can come to her!"

Uncle dutch made
annoyed grumbling sounds.

So, I tried uncle saul.

Uncle saul said, "sophie!

Be a good girl,
get me some soda."

I hung my head
and trudged to the kitchen.

"Grandma, aunt lena
is very sad

"Because she can't go
to her matinee,

"And I want to make
a musical show for her.

Won't you help me?"

"What would you like me
to do?" Grandma asked.

"Well, maybe you can help me
with my costume.

"I need a feather boa
and many necklaces

"And long gloves
and a big hat.

"Maybe we could
borrow records.

"Then we could
have music, too.

We could sing songs from
aunt lena's favorite shows."

My grandma
started to laugh--

A really big laugh.

Half an hour later,
I appeared downstairs
in the living room

In full costume!

♪ Take me out
to the ball game ♪

♪ Take me out
to the crowd... ♪

I sang with all the heart
I could muster.

♪ I don't care
if I never... ♪

Uncle sauly joined in...

And then uncle dutch
picked me up

And danced me
around the living room.

♪ At the old ball game ♪

My grandma came in
to applaud us at the end.

[Clapping]

"Oh, grandma!
Aren't they divine?" I said,

Using one of aunt lena's
favorite words.

The kitchen became
our rehearsal stage.

Every evening
for the next few days

While aunt lena slept
and my grandma cooked supper,

We practiced our show.

Finally, wednesday arrived.

We waited in the kitchen
for our cue.

Suddenly, aunt lena's voice
boomed from upstairs.

"Hey! What's going on
in here?"

"She's up,"
whispered my grandma.

"Curtain time."

Uncle dutch
led our chorus line.

Uncle sauly
circled around him,

Blasting his bugle.

[Bugle playing introduction]

♪ Give my regards
to broadway ♪

♪ Remember me
to herald square ♪

We sang with my grandma and me
bringing up the rear,

Whirling tassels we borrowed
from the living room drapes.

♪ ...there! ♪

With that, uncle dutch
and my grandma

Launched
into a terrific tango.

I followed across the floor,

Cheek to cheek
with my stuffed dog delores.

Meantime,
aunt lena chuckled, cackled,

And applauded
with great delight.

"Encore! Encore! Ooh!"

Our show had made
aunt lena laugh,

And laughing seemed
just the thing to
help her get better.

Days later, she pointed
her finger at me and announced,

"Get your patent leather pumps
and pink pocketbook, honey.

Have I got
a surprise for you!"

[Orchestra warming up]

We whisked into the theater
and up the steps

To aunt lena's
balcony seats.

As the lights dimmed
and everyone grew quiet,

Aunt lena put her warm,
perfumed arm around me

And whispered, "now...
Here's where the magic begin."

[Orchestra playing]

Sophie was pretty surprised

To find the joy
of singing and dancing

Right inside her.

It took
a little convincing,

But she finally
got her whole family
to join in, too.

You know, sometimes,
someone has to give
you a little push

To help you take a chance

You might not have taken
on your own.

[Boys singing]

Levar: using your voice
is the most personal way

To make music,

And when voices
join together,

The result can be
a glorious sound.

Dr. Walter turnbull

Has made
the boys choir of harlem

His life's work.

[Singing continues]

Once again, please.

You know, it's something
about "mine" that
doesn't get legato.

♪ I will lift up
mine eyes ♪

I have to have singing
through the "mine."

Turnbull, voice-over:
very often, kids don't
realize that they can sing,

And that's the joy
of discovering children

Who have an ear,
who have a voice.

Not everyone
has a singing voice.

Ha ha ha!

Um, but I'm often known
to tell the kids

I can teach
a doorknob to sing.

Ha ha ha!

[Boys singing scales]

Boy: being in the choir,

I've learned about myself,
that I can sing, first of all,

And that I can be
a leader, too.

Different boy:
it makes you more mature

Or be more of a man
than to be a little boy.

Turnbull: intelligent singing.

Freedom, joy.

I feel glad when I sing.

Turnbull, voice-over:
I know from where
my children have come.

I've seen kids come in

Who were very negative,

But come into an environment
where they're accepted,

Where first-class musicianship
is expected,

They sort of turn around.

And to see them
blossom and grow

And become
first-class musicians

Is extraordinarily
important to me.

I want to become
an opera singer,

And now I know
with this advantage

And this boost
that they have given me,

I can make it.

If I wasn't in the choir,

I don't think I ever would have
gone to japan or to europe

Or italy, france, berlin.

Can you imagine that they
know how to sing in japanese?

Because we went to japan
and they sang in japanese.

♪ Oooh ♪

♪ Oooh ♪

It's not thinking,
sopranos.

No support,
not thinking,

And it's not loud.

Nasty.

Ugh...

They look like angels,

But I am not sure
that they're angels.

As a matter of fact,
I know they're not angels.

Ha ha ha!

Uh, but they're very...
I think that what we have
to instill in our kids

Is that sense of purpose,

A sense of going for it.

Do it.

Don't wait for
someone else to do it.

Do it.

♪ Do ahh, do op ♪

♪ Do ahh, do op ♪

♪ Do ahh, do op,
do ahh, do op ♪

♪ It don't mean a thing ♪

♪ All you have to do
is sing ♪

♪ Do ahh, do ahh ♪

♪ Ohh ♪

♪ Do ahh, do op ♪

Turnbull:
get up! Get up!

John, get up!

Turnbull, voice-over:
the boys often have requests,

And they help us to pick
some of the music,

And, as a matter of fact,

They have written a song
called the joy of singing.

Boys: ♪ ...joy ♪

♪ Of singing ♪

♪ Joy, joy ♪

♪ Joy ♪

♪ Of singing ♪

♪ Joy, joy ♪

♪ Joy ♪

♪ Of singing ♪

♪ Joy, joy ♪

♪ Joy ♪

♪ Of singing ♪

Turnbull, voice-over:
a choir is many things.

A choir has
to work together.

A choir has
to play together

In order to sing together.

It's like the choir is like
any basketball team,

Any football team...

I thank him for, like,
taking us under his wing

And teaching us to be
like a responsible black man

Because if I wasn't here,

I'd probably be doing
something stupid right now.

It's, like,
he's your friend...

Like, he's somebody
you could depend on,

You could trust.

[Boys singing]

I know now
that I am somebody

And that I count.

I never thought
this would come to me.

And I'm never going
to forget the choir

Because it will be
the best times of my life.

Boys: ♪ oooh ♪

♪ Oooh ♪

[Singing continues]

For those young men,

Being a part
of the boys choir

Is not just about
singing and dancing.

It's also about
the joy of performing

For other people.

When you sing or dance
or make someone laugh,

You're actually sharing
a part of who you are

With an audience.

And that's what makes
peter petovski,

This very funny man,

Very happy.

Man: please welcome...
Peter petovski!

Woman: oh!

[Laughing and applause]

Peter: the best way
I can describe what I do

Is I'm
a warner brothers cartoon.

I'm a human animation.

That's not a real face.

That's not real.

That's real.

Ok. This is called
a half a man.

[Laughter]

Peter, voice-over:
I always knew I was a clown.

I always knew it was my job
to entertain people.

I would imitate everyone.

My mother
would be in hysterics.

I'd imitate my brothers,
my father, my grandmother.

A blowfish snoring.

Peter, voice-over:
when I'm onstage,

I'm very frightened,
I'm very terrified

Because I want the audience
to love me so much

That I'll do anything...
Within reason.

Ha ha ha!

[Loud laughter]

[Yelping]

Peter, voice-over:
when I knew that
I wanted to be a comedian,

I said, ok,
what do I need to do?

I need to watch.

Who do I watch?

I watch the greatest comedians
that ever lived.

That's charlie chaplin...

Laurel and hardy...

Buster keaton.

Those are my teachers.

That's how I learned
to do all of my falls,

Double takes,

Attitude.

When I was 15,

I was watching a pbs special
on buster keaton,

And all it showed
was all of his falls.

And, to me,

That looked like ballet.

He was, in my opinion,

The greatest comedy filmmaker
that ever lived.

Throw me into the wall.

Just whip me into the wall.

Ah!

[Audience laughing]

Aargh!

[Clang]

Peter, voice-over:
when you see someone do a fall,

Don't ever
just try to do it

Because you will
hurt yourself.

All of my falls
are all illusions.

They look like I hurt--
it's acting.

I make believe
I hurt myself.

Woman: no!

[Laughter and applause]

Peter: so, how you doing?

Where you from?
Nice-looking audience!

Peter, voice-over:
the whole thing is
to make it look easy.

The thing is to show people
that I'm not really hurt.

It's like,
when I go like this,

Just take a drink of water,
and I just go--

[Clink]

I hit it with my ring.

[Clink]

Can't get in my...

[Clink]

Peter, voice-over: I'd love
to make the whole planet happy.

That's what I want to do.

I want to give it
to as many people as I can

And make everyone happy.

[Gibberish]

Aw--

Peter loves what he does

Because his relationship
with the audience

Is electric.

Performing before any audience
is exciting,

But what almost
every performer dreams of

Is being
on the broadway stage.

In fact, for some,

It's just the cat's meow.

Cast: ♪ ...jellicles can
and jellicles do ♪

♪ Jellicle cats ♪

♪ Jellicle cats ♪

♪ Jellicles would
and jellicles do ♪

♪ Jellicle songs
for jellicle cats ♪

♪ Jellicle songs
for jellicle cats... ♪

This is where
loni agaman, the actress,

Becomes grizabella,
the glamour cat.

I love playing her,

But the best part
is becoming her.

Ok. Here comes the nose.

Loni, voice-over:
I really feel like my eyes
are beginning to stand out

Like cat's eyes,

Because before,
they were just human eyes.

When my makeup and hair
are ready,

I know it's close
to show time.

Man: ok, cats.

Half-hour call!

Half-hour to get ready!

Loni, voice-over:
all my life,

I've dreamt
of being on broadway.

When I'm up onstage,

Everything comes together--

My makeup, my costume,
my voice.

I am a cat.

♪ If you touch me ♪

♪ You'll understand
what happiness is ♪

Look.

♪ A new day ♪

♪ Has begun ♪

[Applause]

There are so many shows,
it's really hard to choose.

Listen to what some people
are saying.

"Thrilling."

"Exhilarating."

"A laugh riot."

"Don't miss it."

Wow! They all sound great.

You know, one way
to choose a good show

Is to listen to what others
have to say about it.

And the same is true
for choosing a good book.

So, here are 3 smash hits
that you won't want to miss,

But you don't have to take
my word for it.

Hi. I'm sylvia,

And I'm having a tip-tapping,
finger-snapping kind of day.

That's because
I read this book called

My mama had a dancing heart.

The mother and daughter
in this story

Love to dance together.

They celebrate
when the rain comes.

They do
a "hello, summer" ballet.

In the autumn, they dance
with the falling leaves.

The wind sounds
like music to them.

They make snow angels
for a winter ballet.

When the girl grows up,

She remembers how it felt
to dance with her mom.

After you read this book,

You'll feel like
kicking off your shoes.

So celebrate with
my mama had a dancing heart.

Hi. I'm chad burgoss,

And I'd like to tell you
about a magical story
that I just read

Called the dancing man.

The story begins
with a boy named joseph.

He lives in a quiet town.

There's no laughing.
There's no dancing.

One evening, he meets a man
with a green hat

And silver shoes.

"I'm the dancing man,
and I have a gift for you."

The gift is a pair
of silver shoes.

Joseph dances
from place to place.

One slow step,
one quick step.

His dancing
makes people feel good.

I like dancing, too.

I don't want to give
the ending away,

So please feel free
to go to your nearest library

And check out this book--
the dancing man.

Hi. My name is sahen.

If you're a person
who loves singing or animals,

Wait until
you hear this story--

The old man
who loved to sing.

The hero of this story
is an old man.

He lives
in a deserted valley.

There are no people,
but there are plenty of animals.

The old man
loves to sing.

If he isn't singing,
he's whistling.

If he isn't whistling,

Then he's listening
to his gramophone.

As time went on,
the man grew older and older.

He didn't sing as much.

The animals
missed his songs.

Pretty soon, the animals
made music of their own.

[Croaking]

[Chirping]

[Snorting]

The old man who loved to sing
is the coolest picture book

I have ever read,

So be sure
and check it out.

Whether it's for
a big broadway audience,

For your school play,

Or just for the fun of it,

There's nothing better
than the feeling you get

When you perform.

So find the performer
inside of you.

You might be surprised
at the talent you discover.

Well, I got to go.

As aunt lena would say,

"And now
the magic begins."

I'll see you next time.

Today's reading rainbow books
are...

When aunt lena did the rhumba
by eileen kurtis-kleinman,

Illustrated by diane greenseid,

Published by
hyperion books for children.

My mama had a dancing heart
by libba moore gray,

Illustrated by raul colon,

Published by orchard books.

The dancing man
by ruth lercher bornstein,

Illustrated
by ruth lercher bornstein,

Published by clarion books,

An imprint
of the houghton mifflin company.

The old man who loved to sing
by john winch,

Illustrated by john winch,

Published by scholastic press.